BOCA RATON, Fla. - This Saturday and Sunday, the Florida Junior Tour traveled to Osprey Point Golf Course in Boca Raton where golfers aged 16 to 18 competed in a 36-hole stroke-play event on the Falcon and Raven courses. The field was blessed with beautiful weather all weekend, which ultimately led to great scores in both the boys and girls divisions. At the end of two days of competition, Andrew Morgan and Kayla Bryant were able to elevate their play above the rest to claim their first victories of the year.
Boys (16-18)
After 18 holes, the leaderboard for the Boys Division was heavily packed with multiple players recording under-par rounds. However, Andrew Morgan, of Jacksonville, was able to separate himself from the pack with an incredible round of 8-under par 64. Morgan’s round ties the second lowest 18-hole score ever recorded in the Boys (16-18) Division. The Jacksonville native’s bogey-free round was highlighted by an eagle on his final hole of the day, the par-5 ninth. In second place, three shots behind the leader, was Corbin Scott, of Boca Raton. Like Morgan, Scott did not record a bogey during his first round and poured in five birdies on his way to shooting 5-under par 67 to keep himself in contention heading to Sunday. Reed Greyserman, of Boca Raton, finished Saturday in solo third place following a round of 4-under par 68, which included an impressive stretch of three birdies and one eagle from holes one to four.
Through nine holes on Sunday, what was once a three-shot lead for the Jacksonville native had completely disappeared. Palmer Haynes, of Orlando, who was six shots back to begin the second round, could not be stopped on the front nine as he recorded three birdies and an eagle to get to 7-under par for the tournament. With a birdie on the par-5 9th hole, Morgan would regain a one-shot lead with nine holes to go. Scott and Tristan Wieland, of Jupiter, also found success on Sunday morning as both players were tied for third and just two shots back of Morgan as they made the turn. After the 14th hole, Morgan, Scott, and Haynes were all tied at 7-under, but Morgan would retake the lead once again with a birdie on the par-4 15th hole, a lead he would not relinquish for the rest of the day. Morgan would eventually come away with a one-shot victory and a cumulative score of 8-under par, securing his first-ever FJT victory. Scott, Haynes, and Greyserman, who birdied his final two holes, finished in a tie for second with a tournament total of 7-under par.
Girls (16-18)
At the end of the first round, Sabree Lefebvre, of Riverview, sat atop a cluttered leaderboard that featured 10 players within four shots of her lead. Lefebvre struggled out of the gate as she double-bogeyed the par-5 third hole; however, she would then go on to play the remainder of her round bogey-free and would finish with a score of 2-under par 70. Two players completed the first round in a tie for second, just one shot back of the leader. Eva Lye, of Naples, used consistency as a weapon by recording a par on 15 of the 18 holes in the first round to shoot 1-under par 71. Mami (Judy) Amano got off to a hot start by playing her first nine bogey-free at 5-under par; however, she would eventually finish the round at 1-over par 71 to share second place.
On Sunday, it was anyone’s tournament to win as Lefebvre was not able to maintain her hold on the lead. After nine holes had been completed, Kayla Bryant, who began the day three shots back, sat atop the leaderboard at even-par for the tournament, giving her a two-shot lead. Bryant, of Boca Raton, would go on to add three birdies on the back-nine to complete an impressive bogey-free round with a score of 4-under par 68. The Boca Raton native would finish the tournament with a cumulative score of 3-under par and capture her first victory of 2023. Ariana Silva, of Fort Lauderdale, also had a bogey-free back-nine that included three birdies. This run catapulted her up to second place, where she finished with a total score of 1-over par. Abigail Sheldon, of Boca Raton, finished in solo third with a score of 2-over par.
